John P. Ordway
Encyclopedia
John Pond Ordway) was a doctor, composer, music entrepreneur, and politician.
Ordway was born at Salem, Massachusetts
. Graduating from Harvard Medical College
in 1859, Ordway was one of the first surgeons to volunteer at the start of the Civil War
, serving in the 6th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He was one of the Union surgeons sent to tend to the wounded after the Battle of Gettysburg
.
Ordway was an owner of a music store in Boston, a music publisher, and a composer. His song Twinkling Stars are Laughing, Love (1855) was recorded by the Hayden Quartet as late as 1902 and 1904. Dreaming of Home and Mother (1851) was a popular sentimental song of the Civil War era, and continues to be played; it is popular in China and Japan in translated versions. Around 1845 he organized Ordway's Aeolians, a blackface minstrel troupe which performed at Ordway Hall
in Boston and also nationally to promote Ordway's publishing business. Future bandleader/composer Patrick Gilmore
worked in Ordway's store and also appeared with the Aeolians. James Lord Pierpont's first major composition "The Returned Californian" in 1852 was written expressly for Ordway and his troupe. A number of 19th century songs were written for the Aeolians and/or dedicated to Ordway, including Jingle Bells
.
Ordway served from 1859 to 1873 on Boston's School Board, and one term (1868) in the Massachusetts General Court
. He was opposed to corporal punishment
in schools, sponsoring a bill to that effect in the legislature.
Ordway was also responsible for founding the Massachusetts Angler's Association, the forerunner to the Massachusetts Fish and Game Association. He died in Boston, Massachusetts.
His nephew Lucius Pond Ordway (the son of his older brother Aaron Ordway) was a major backer of 3M
in its early days and served as its president.
Ordway was born at Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
. Graduating from Harvard Medical College
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
in 1859, Ordway was one of the first surgeons to volunteer at the start of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, serving in the 6th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He was one of the Union surgeons sent to tend to the wounded after the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
.
Ordway was an owner of a music store in Boston, a music publisher, and a composer. His song Twinkling Stars are Laughing, Love (1855) was recorded by the Hayden Quartet as late as 1902 and 1904. Dreaming of Home and Mother (1851) was a popular sentimental song of the Civil War era, and continues to be played; it is popular in China and Japan in translated versions. Around 1845 he organized Ordway's Aeolians, a blackface minstrel troupe which performed at Ordway Hall
Ordway Hall (Boston)
Ordway Hall was a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts located off Washington Street in the former Province House. John P. Ordway established and managed the hall, which specialized in "negro minstrelsy," particularly the Ordway Aeolians, his own troupe....
in Boston and also nationally to promote Ordway's publishing business. Future bandleader/composer Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was an Irish-born composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. Whilst serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", the tune he took from an old Irish antiwar folk...
worked in Ordway's store and also appeared with the Aeolians. James Lord Pierpont's first major composition "The Returned Californian" in 1852 was written expressly for Ordway and his troupe. A number of 19th century songs were written for the Aeolians and/or dedicated to Ordway, including Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
.
Ordway served from 1859 to 1873 on Boston's School Board, and one term (1868) in the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
. He was opposed to corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
in schools, sponsoring a bill to that effect in the legislature.
Ordway was also responsible for founding the Massachusetts Angler's Association, the forerunner to the Massachusetts Fish and Game Association. He died in Boston, Massachusetts.
His nephew Lucius Pond Ordway (the son of his older brother Aaron Ordway) was a major backer of 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
in its early days and served as its president.